Tools not Rules

The goal of Failing Fast is success, not failure. Years ago when my wife and I started a design studio, Daggus Designs, my background had primarily been illustration while she had done both graphic design AND illustration. Our clients mostly hired us for design services and I realized that she was a faster and more effective designer than myself. I began studying her process and here’s what I realized:

I approached my work as an illustrator. I had a mental image of the end result and I steadily worked towards that image, adjusting as I went if I couldn’t achieve a desired effect. She, on the other hand, immediately started designing with zero attachment to her reference material. She was constantly iterating on her design, trying ideas quickly and dismissing them or building on them. She was daring in her ideas because she was working fast and willing to toss them if they didn’t work. The design magic was in the process, as opposed to the initial vision.